After a pleasant dinner, tonight was a rare night without training. Cain put all his Pokémon back in their Poké Balls and left the hotel directly.
He found a secluded corner and quickly changed into the Team Rocket uniform. Then, he covered himself with a black cloak and put on a human skin mask that identified him as a Pokémon hunter.
No doubt, tonight Cain was heading to the Hunter Guild to deliver a mission and sell other Pokémon he had captured. This should earn him a good amount of money.
Night had already fallen. Unlike Goldenrod City, the people of Ecruteak City are devoutly religious. Some say they are more serene, but others see it as laziness.
Although it was only around seven or eight in the evening, there were hardly any people on the streets.
This allowed Cain, dressed in his black cloak, to not attract much attention. He moved through some alleyways, taking advantage of the darkness, and arrived at a very discreet shop on the southwest corner of Ecruteak City.
He knocked on the door in a rhythmic pattern, and after hearing a "click," the door opened.
This place was a secret contact point for Team Rocket in Ecruteak City. These details had been provided by Umbra before Cain left.
Since Cain was working for him, Umbra made sure to provide some assistance, and the password for this place was one of those aids.
Cain quickly slipped through the door, which automatically closed after his entry.
The shop was arranged very simply, and since it was already closed, there was no one at the counter.
The door had only opened due to a special mechanism installed in it, activated when a specific knocking pattern was received.
Cain wasn't surprised that there was no one. Although in his previous life he hadn't spent much time in Ecruteak City, he had been here a few times on missions, so he knew the secret points of Team Rocket in the city.
In fact, this was not the only secret point of Team Rocket in Ecruteak City. Cain knew of three others, but Umbra had only given him the password for this one. He couldn't go to the other two locations.
Of course, Team Rocket in Ecruteak City didn't have just three secret points, but given his identity and rank in his previous life, he had only known about these three.
Once inside, without making any unnecessary moves, Cain went to a room in the back of the shop and placed his Team Rocket identity card into a slot with the team's emblem.
With the sound of gears turning and belts moving, a secret door opened.
The secret door revealed a small space, with some strange symbols drawn on the floor. Cain entered, and the door closed behind him with a loud thud. By the faint light of the lamps, Cain inserted his identity card into another slot.
With a familiar psychic vibration, the secret door's teleportation was activated.
Three seconds later, Cain disappeared from the room.
When he opened his eyes again, Cain was in a rock cave.
This place was the black market of Ecruteak City.
However, unlike the fully underground black market of Saffron City, Ecruteak City's couldn't afford such a luxury.
It wasn't that the technology didn't allow it, but the significance of Ecruteak City to the Pokémon League was different from that of Saffron City.
Although Saffron City was the largest city in Kanto, it was so full of different people that even the League couldn't fully control it. Sometimes, they even had to make concessions to some dark organizations like Team Rocket or the Hunter Guild.
But Ecruteak City was different.
The city was entirely under the control of the Pokémon League. Even clandestine organizations had to keep their distance.
This was because the Bell Tower and Burned Tower were too important, and the League would not allow any clandestine organization to approach them. Even if they had to try their hardest, they would fully control Ecruteak City.
Therefore, since the League didn't make concessions in this regard, organizations like Team Rocket had little interest in facing the League for something that wasn't that important to them. So they relinquished part of their control.
As for why Team Rocket gave up on a place with such a special legend, it was because they had found another, more intriguing legend.
Compared to the somewhat unrealistic legend of Ho-Oh here, the other legend had almost been confirmed, so Ecruteak City wasn't as important to Team Rocket.
However, black markets in every city were still valuable, so the League turned a blind eye and allowed it to exist.
Although this black market was smaller, it was still quite comprehensive and was located in Mt. Mortar, outside the city.
Cain appeared in the cave, and with the faint light of some worn-out bulbs, he could barely see the path.
Cain released a Poké Ball to call out Murkrow and ventured into the cave with him.
After walking through the long tunnel, his view opened up to a vast underground city.
After a brief pause, Cain entered this underground city, the black market of Ecruteak City in Mt. Mortar.
It was clear that this black market was considerably smaller than the one in Saffron City, so there were also fewer people.
Another special feature was that most people here were covered in black cloaks, and few showed their faces openly.
This was because there were not only members of clandestine organizations but also trainers with League identities and even some prominent families of Ecruteak City who had stores here.
The League had chosen to ignore this.
Ecruteak City was the origin of religion in the Johto region, and many old families were established here. To gain their support, the League ceded part of its power, and this black market, created by the families of Ecruteak City, was one such concession.
That's right, this black market wasn't run by Team Rocket or other clandestine organizations, but by the families of Ecruteak City.
Only, since it was a black market, they didn't oppose the entry of organizations like Team Rocket.
Many of the shops in this market had discreet family emblems at the entrance, indicating that they were operated by families from Ecruteak City.
Although small, the black market was well-organized, with clearly delineated sales areas.
Cain, following the signs, arrived at the Pokémon sale area.
Here, shops and vendor stalls were mixed, with sellers shouting to attract customers, almost turning it into a bazaar.
However, the Hunter Guild's shop still stood out for its lack of ostentation, with only a few iron cages at the entrance and no one calling out for customers.
Unlike the Hunter Guild in Saffron City, which was more discreet, here they did not hide at all. A large guild emblem hung at the entrance.
From time to time, some people passed by. Although all were covered with black cloaks, some had several golden stars on their chests.
They were high-ranking hunters of the Hunter Guild!
(End of chapter)